Wheelchair

Get a look into the world of wheelchair rugby with an exhibition that raises money for disabled students. Orange Coast College is hosting its ninth annual Bill Alvarez Memorial Wheelchair Rugby Exhibition at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Peterson Gymnasium, 2701 Fairview Road. The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Spirit of Ability Club and Disabled Students Programs and Services, honors longtime OCC staffer Bill Alvarez, who died eight years ago after serving as coordinator of the college's High Tech Center for 14 years.

Police are looking for the public's help in finding the person or people who stole a wheelchair from a disabled man Saturday morning in Newport Beach. About 3 a.m. Saturday, a 57-year-old Newport Beach resident was riding in his black, electric Quantum 6000 XL wheelchair in the 500 block of 32 n d Street when the battery died on him, said Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Rasmussen. The man left the wheelchair alone in the parking lot where it died and got a ride from there.

Hundreds of restless children created a steady, excited buzz that permeated the picnic shelter at Costa Mesa’s most handicap-accessible playground as they sat through an hour of tear-filled orations by countless dignitaries Friday. Lists of thanks were given, proclamations recognizing all of the work that went into the one-of-a-kind Angels Playground were read, ceremonial ribbons were cut — then the kids were let loose. Instantly the equipment was swarmed. There was no pause, no thought given to which kids were physically disabled and which kids were able-bodied.

The family of a wheelchair-bound Newport Beach man who was attacked by an unknown assailant is raising funds to help pay his immediate medical bills. Alan Halderman, 56, got into an altercation on the Balboa Peninsula with another man Aug. 6. He was punched in the head and pushed from his wheelchair. He suffered a broken hip in the attack. "The short-term expenses for his injuries are around $3,500, so that's what we're hoping to raise, though long term I think we're looking more at upwards of $20,000," said Halderman's sister, Sarah Frost.

Cue the spotlight and let's give sixth-grader Dusty Brandom a standing ovation. Dusty performed this week in Lincoln Elementary School's production of "Oliver!" playing the wicked Mr. Bumble. That's no small task, especially considering Dusty has muscular dystrophy and can't walk. And although confined to a wheelchair, Dusty took on the role of the villainous head of the orphanage, belting out three songs along the way. Born with a type of muscular dystrophy that affects only boys, Dusty started showing symptoms of the disease six years ago. By the time he was 10, he had no more strength in his legs.

A Superior Court judge on Monday sentenced a white supremacist gang member from Huntington Beach to two years and eight months in prison for attacking and spitting on a black man in a wheelchair six months ago in Costa Mesa. Ronald Lee Bray, 25, pleaded guilty to two felonies — one of committing a hate crime and another of making a criminal threat with a hate crime enhancement. On July 7, Bray spat on the wheelchair-bound man and pushed him into a street light pole outside of a 7-Eleven convenience store at East Mesa Verde Drive and Harbor Boulevard.

55, Newport Beach ... President of the Newport Harbor Chamber of Commerce ... Celebrated his 20-year run as an executive in the chamber in November 2001 with a surprise party arranged by his staff ... Founded the Taste of Newport 14 years ago ... Believes the changes to this year's boat parade will be a positive thing for the city ... Recently completed a five-month renovation to his home that has made his kitchen more...

A baseball field with a smooth surface, access for wheelchairs into the dugouts and a rubberized surface to prevent injuries, this all seems like a dream come true for Reo Kobayashi, a Newport Coast resident. He plans to enjoy playing on it. Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the City of Anaheim broke ground last month on the MLB and Angels All-Star Complex at Pioneer Park in Anaheim. The project is part of the “Going Beyond” charity and community service theme for the 2010 All-Star Summer in Anaheim.

Luis Pena Leilani Gutierrez knew about the anniversary picnic being thrown for her by friends, but she didn't know about the $42,500 surprise. Mother's Day marked the second anniversary of the car accident that left Leilani, now 6, paralyzed from the neck down. She received the anniversary gift of a state-of-the-art wheelchair that left her all smiles. "It's great," Leilani said. "[I'm] just happy to think about chasing Cindy," who's a friend of hers.

They've explored the world of history ("Ragtime") and fantasy ("Seussical"), but the creative team of Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty earlier elected to tackle two other genres - mystery and farce - in their offbeat musical comedy "Lucky Stiff," based on the novel "The Man Who Broke the Bank at Monte Carlo. " The resultant project, now on view at the Costa Mesa Playhouse under the direction of David A. Blair, continues that theater's close kinship with the outlandish in a wild and wacky production designed to draw continuous chuckles, if not frequent belly laughs.

Get a look into the world of wheelchair rugby with an exhibition that raises money for disabled students. Orange Coast College is hosting its ninth annual Bill Alvarez Memorial Wheelchair Rugby Exhibition at 11 a.m. Saturday in the Peterson Gymnasium, 2701 Fairview Road. The exhibition, which is sponsored by the Spirit of Ability Club and Disabled Students Programs and Services, honors longtime OCC staffer Bill Alvarez, who died eight years ago after serving as coordinator of the college's High Tech Center for 14 years.

The family of a wheelchair-bound Newport Beach man who was attacked by an unknown assailant is raising funds to help pay his immediate medical bills. Alan Halderman, 56, got into an altercation on the Balboa Peninsula with another man Aug. 6. He was punched in the head and pushed from his wheelchair. He suffered a broken hip in the attack. "The short-term expenses for his injuries are around $3,500, so that's what we're hoping to raise, though long term I think we're looking more at upwards of $20,000," said Halderman's sister, Sarah Frost.

The family members of a handicapped man are asking for the public's help in identifying an assailant they believe pushed him from his wheelchair and caused his hip to break. Alan Halderman, 56, of Newport Beach was coming home from the pharmacy in his electric wheelchair when he and another man had some kind of altercation about 3:15 p.m. Monday in front of the Old Spaghetti Factory on the Balboa Peninsula, his sister Sharon Frost and brother Larry Halderman said. Alan Halderman had a stroke three years ago and is unable to write or speak, but can answer yes or no to questions, Frost said.

Editor's note: This corrects the year the women went through the pageant and Alyson Roth's title. These contestants are no ordinary beauty queens. They jump out of airplanes, drive race cars, enter surf competitions and ride in bicycle races. They have more courage than most, never mind that they take on the world from the seat of a wheelchair. "A lot of people see the chair and define women by that chair and not their personality," said Alexis Ostrander, director and co-producer of a documentary on Ms. Wheelchair America that premieres at the Newport Beach Film Festival.

NEWPORT BEACH — About a dozen blue balloons decorated a lone wheelchair in the middle of the flag deck Friday morning at Newport Elementary School. Students sat in a horse-shoe shape around the chair, and parents gathered behind them to talk about not one wheelchair, but 52. "So what does 52 wheelchairs look like?" Student Council President Barron Banta, 12, asked the audience. Kids interspersed in the audience stood up and held identical pictures above their heads of someone in a wheelchair.

Police are looking for the public's help in finding the person or people who stole a wheelchair from a disabled man Saturday morning in Newport Beach. About 3 a.m. Saturday, a 57-year-old Newport Beach resident was riding in his black, electric Quantum 6000 XL wheelchair in the 500 block of 32 n d Street when the battery died on him, said Newport Beach Sgt. Steve Rasmussen. The man left the wheelchair alone in the parking lot where it died and got a ride from there.

A baseball field with a smooth surface, access for wheelchairs into the dugouts and a rubberized surface to prevent injuries, this all seems like a dream come true for Reo Kobayashi, a Newport Coast resident. He plans to enjoy playing on it. Major League Baseball, the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim and the City of Anaheim broke ground last month on the MLB and Angels All-Star Complex at Pioneer Park in Anaheim. The project is part of the “Going Beyond” charity and community service theme for the 2010 All-Star Summer in Anaheim.

Recently, as I was going through airport security screening at Los Angeles International Airport, the issue of how we can best keep terrorist attacks on civilians to a minimum once again went through my mind. Fortunately, there has not really been a successful attack by foreigners since Sept. 11, 2001. Has that been due at least in part to airport screenings? Should this screening be increased, decreased or maintained as it is? Preliminarily, we must recognize that the pressure on our president, whether it is George W. Bush, Barack Obama, or anyone else, to keep such an attack from re-occurring must be crushing!